Forgot What Happened in “Sweet Magnolias” Season 1? Here's a Quick Recap!

Maddie Townsend (JoAnna Garcia Swisher) finds herself falling for Coach Cal, her son Ty’s baseball coach, following an ugly and traumatic divorce from her husband, Bill. However, the romance doesn’t bode well with everyone, including Ty. In need of income, she and her two best friends, Helen and Dana Sue, go into business together and open The Corner Spa, though its list of never-ending renovations proves problematic.

Toward the end of season one, the spa goes off without a hitch (for the most part) and Maddie finds her voice, as well as a handsome new boyfriend. But naturally, Bill swoops in and stirs the pot, begging Maddie to take him back. Before she can answer, the police call to inform her that Kyle has been in a car accident.

Helen Decatur (Heather Headley) is Serenity’s number one lawyer, one-third of the sweet magnolias crew, and a second mom to both Maddie’s and Dana Sue’s children. Unlike her complicated relationship with Ryan, her on-and-off-again boyfriend, Helen’s career is largely successful, adding spa owner to the list. When Ryan states he doesn’t want children, Helen breaks things off for good.

Helen is someone who always puts her friends and clients’ needs before her own, but things start to change after she befriends Sullivan’s chef, Erik. The two of them develop a close bond by the end of season one, but viewers aren’t sure whether it’s heading in a platonic or romantic direction.

Dana Sue Sullivan (Brooke Elliott) owns one-third of The Corner Spa and her own restaurant, Sullivan’s. She finds herself knee-deep in financial troubles after having to buy out her silent partner so he can pay off medical bills. Simultaneously, Dana Sue is juggling trying to raise her rebel teenage daughter, Annie, by herself (she and her husband are separating) and a big work-life bombshell involving her employee Issac. During season one, Isaac reveals to Dana Sue that he believes he may be her son, adding even more headaches to her plate.

The only thing going right in her life is her blooming romance with farmer Jeremy until her husband, Ronnie, returns during the finale asking Dana Sue to take him back – however, she wants a divorce. Her storyline ends in a climax when she learns Annie was possibly in the passenger seat in the car crash that has left Kyle unconscious.

After having an affair with his younger colleague, Bill (Chris Klein) divorces Maddie and leaves her and their three children to start a life with his now-pregnant fiancée, Noreen. Bill quickly becomes the most disliked man in Serenity and attempts to make amends with his children by buying back their trust. He gifts his eldest son, Ty, a truck, which then turns into a feud with Maddie over how to co-parent.

However, as Maddie begins to win the affections of Coach Cal, a jealous Bill tries to throw his hat back into the ring. The season one finale ends with Bill telling Maddie he wants to get back together (after Noreen has already left him, of course), but a 911 call interrupts their conversation.

Noreen Fitzgibbons (Jamie Lynn Spears) is Bill’s pregnant fiancée and colleague, whom Bill left his wife, Maddie, for. Despite her growing friendship with Bill’s youngest son, Kyle, Noreen isn’t able to get on the town’s good side, and her rising tensions with Bill don’t help, either. At the end of season one, she leaves Bill and Serenity in the hopes of raising her baby in a nontoxic environment.

Upon learning that he’s being scouted by the Atlanta Braves, Ty finds his baseball coach flirting with his mother in their house. Ty is still angry about his dad’s infidelity, and a sympathy present (the truck) causes a wedge between Ty and his brother Kyle, which only worsens throughout the season. Their childhood friend Annie also begins showing more of a romantic interest in Ty, not Kyle, causing even more tension.

During the finale, a fight between Ty and his high school nemesis breaks out at a prom afterparty. As a result, Kyle comes to Ty’s rescue, but Ty wards him off, consequently hurting Kyle’s feelings and leading him to take Ty’s car keys and run away.

Annie has a rough time throughout season one. Her mother is under serious stress at the restaurant, her parents are broken up for the foreseeable future, and she’s falling for Ty, her childhood best friend who is reluctant to take their friendship to the next level. Annie is a bit rebellious and begins sneaking around, drinking, and seeking attention from a guy named Simon.

Things come to a head when Annie ditches her original plans to hang out with Kyle (they both are grounded the night of prom) and instead accepts Simon’s prom invitation. It’s unclear if Annie chases after Kyle at the party, leading viewers to theorise whether or not she’s in the car with Kyle at the time of the accident.

Kyle is the middle child of the Townsend children. Throughout the series, he is at odds with his older brother, Ty, over their conflicting feelings about their parents’ split. Despite this and his father’s lack of support toward his interest in school theatre, Kyle forms a relationship with Noreen.

Things escalate as Kyle continues to feel like no one cares about him or his feelings. In a crime of passion, he steals Ty’s truck and gets in a collision, which leaves him unconscious. Viewers are left to speculate whether he’ll survive and who the unknown passenger is.